Business

Big Data: Career Opportunities Abound in Tech's Hottest Field

As big data continues to grow, companies around the world are on the hunt for technical recruits — a shift experts predict will continue through 2014 and beyond. WinterWyman'sNY Tech Search division, for example, has seen a 300% increase in demand for data scientists and engineers since 2013. The hottest sectors for big data growth are ad tech, financial services, ecommerce and social media — those with the highest opportunity for revenue.

Below is a quick guide for both companies and job seekers seeking big data opportunities.

Q&A

What is big data?Big data is the advance in data management technology, which allows for an increase in the scale and manipulation of a company's data. It allows companies to know more about their customers, products and their own infrastructure. More recently, people have become increasingly focused on the monetization of that data.

How can companies benefit by using big data; and more importantly, which industries use it?Big data is everywhere; the volume of data produced, saved and mined is mind-boggling. Today, companies use data collection and analysis to formulate more cogent business strategies. This will continue to be an emerging area for all industries.

What is the current hiring landscape for big data? What are the salary ranges?Currently, tech positions in big data are hard to fill because the demand is overwhelming and the talent pool is so small. It is difficult to find job candidates with the specific skill sets needed while balancing the cost of that talent. Companies need to ensure they can make money off of the “data” to justify offering candidates a large salary.

The highest demand is for data engineers who can code, utilize data analytics and manipulate for marketing purposes. The newest — and most sought-after role — is for data scientists who can integrate big data into both the company's IT department and business functions. These positions are all within a salary range of $90-$180,000, depending on the individual role and experience. The typical time to hire is less than three weeks.

What is a data scientist?Data scientists integrate big data technology into both IT departments and business functions. Many have a formal education in computer science and math, focusing on architecture/code, modeling, statistics and analytics. There is also a trend toward data-oriented master’s degree programs being offered at many colleges and universities. A data scientist must also understand the business applications of big data and how it will affect the business organization, and be able to communicate with IT and business management.

What can job seekers do to get the skills they need for a job in big data?You need to be a marketable programmer already, or enroll in a program/school like General Assembly. To help make you more marketable to transition to a big data job, aim to work on projects using platforms like Hadoop or Mongo.

3 tips for hiring companies

1. Don't delay time to hire: These candidates have a lot of career options. They often have multiple job offers and are not on the market long. Wait too long, and they won't be available.

2. Promote your company: It's good to have a distinct company culture, but candidates are more concerned with how their job will evolve, who they will work with, what technology they will use, etc. Be sure that you're hitting all of these key points throughout the interview process and on your company website's "careers" section.

3. Practice flexibility when considering candidates’ qualifications: Because of the limited number of qualified candidates, companies must be open to considering candidates from different industries who have transferable job skills. Focus on a candidate's potential to learn and grow with the company rather than strict prerequisites for hard skills.

3 tips for job seekers

1. You have options: The market is strong, and this is a great time to be looking for employment. You have negotiating power when it comes to salary, benefits, etc.

2. Contract or permanent jobs abound: Most job candidates can convert a contract/temporary position to permanent employment. There are more opportunities today than in the past few years to transition from a contract position to a full-time one. That being said, developing a strong portfolio of contract/freelance work can prove lucrative — you'll need to decide what option works best for your needs, goals and schedule.

3. Your technical skills are hot: People with strong tech backgrounds on their resumes are being bombarded with offers. You can afford to be selective about the company you decide to ultimately join.

Predictions for the future of big data

In my expert opinion, there will be a continued hiring demand for big data-related positions in industries such as mobile, healthcare and financial services — but industries that have the ability to monetize big data, such as ad tech, will likely have a longer, deeper and steeper hiring demand for big data-related positions.

What is so exciting is that big data applies to almost all industries. As a data scientist, you can work for any number of companies or industries. As an employer, it's all about finding the right talent to fit your big data needs.

Mashable Job Board Listings

The Mashable Job Board connects job seekers across the U.S. with unique career opportunities in the digital space. While we publish a wide range of job listings, we have selected a few job opportunities from the past several weeks to help get you started. Happy hunting!

As President of WinterWyman Search, Ian Ide leads the operations and strategy of WinterWyman’s Technology and Accounting & Finance Search divisions. He has over 20 years of recruitment experience and is an authority on hiring executive and technology...More

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